reflective essay on educational leadership

Educational Leadership and Management Reflective Essay

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My New Skills about Educational Management and Leadership

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Schools and colleges bring teachers, parents, and students together (Fitzgerald, 2009). Each of these groups has its unique goals and objectives. Every school leader should employ the best strategies in order to mentor these stakeholders.

School leadership is a complex practice aimed at guiding teachers and learners. Educational leadership is one of the best practices towards improving the performance of different learners.

I have gained new skills as a school leader. My first understanding is that the quality of school leadership determines the performance of every learning institution. This explains why every person should apply the best educational leadership skills. Every institution requires the best leaders in order to attain its goals.

The best leaders will ensure their institutions provide quality education to their learners. Leadership should promote “performance, openness, mentorship, and teamwork” (Day, Gronn, & Salas, 2004, p. 874).

I will use this knowledge in order to become a successful educational leader. Every educational leader should focus on the best goals (Cranston & Ehrich, 2009).

Creating Teams

The first concept towards better educational leadership is creating cohesive teams. According to Bush (2007, p. 396), “a team is a group of individuals whose mission is to achieve a set of common goals or solve the problems affecting them”.

Every team member is committed to the targeted goals or objectives. A team will succeed if it has a good mentor or leader. A motivated team will achieve its goals much easier. The class readings have also explored some of the best practices towards better educational leadership.

Leaders should use different teams in order to achieve their goals (Sheard & Kakabadse, 2004). This practice will ensure every team achieves its educational goals (National College of School Leadership, 2009).

Team Leadership

Team leadership is a dynamic approach that ensures every learner achieves his or her academic goals. The readings have widened my skills as a team leader in an academic environment. The application of proper leadership ensures every team achieves its goals.

Every team leader should be competent and self-determined (Mayrowetz, 2008). I am also planning to become a professional team leader.

Team leaders should be ready to promote cohesiveness and improve the level of communication. Team leadership is “the ability to solve every problem affecting a given group” (Hall, 2002, p. 730).

Distributed and Middle Leadership

Distributed leadership remains a major practice in many learning institutions. This leadership approach helps every manager devolve his or her responsibilities across the institution. This leadership approach follows a top-down strategy.

This leadership approach is effective because it improves the level of academic performance (Johnson, 2003). The class materials have also informed me about the importance of middle leadership. Middle leaders examine every aspect of their learning institutions.

The leader “promotes enquiry, professional development, and curriculum” (Sheard & Kakabadse, 2004, p. 102). This leader also encourages his students and teachers to establish new teams.

The leaders sustain the best networks in order to achieve their goals. I have understood why every educational leader should use the best leadership styles.

I have gained new skills from the learning process. I am planning to use these skills in my future professional practice. A good educational leader supports every teacher or learner (Gunter & Fitzgerald, 2007).

Every manager should portray the best organisational behaviours. Different leadership models such as transformational and transactional practices will ensure every learner is contented with the learning environment. I will always use these practices in order to create the best teams.

Bush, T. (2007). Educational leadership and management: theory, policy, and practice. South African Journal of Education, 27 (3), 391-406.

Cranston, N., & Ehrich, L. (2009). Senior management teams in schools: Understanding their dynamics, enhancing their effectiveness. Leading and Managing, 15 (1), 14-25.

Day, D., Gronn, P., & Salas, E. (2004). Leadership capacity in teams. The Leadership Quarterly, 15 (6), 857-880.

Fitzgerald, T. (2009). The Tyranny of Bureaucracy: Continuing challenges of Leading and Managing . Educational management administration and Leadership, 37 (1), 51-65.

Gunter, H., & Fitzgerald, T. (2007). Leading learning and leading teachers: Challenges for schools in the 21st Century. Leading and Managing, 13 (1), 1-15.

Hall, V. (2002). From teamwork to team-work in education. In K. Leithwood & P. Hallinger (Eds.), Second international handbook of educational leadership and administration. Part 2 (pp. 697-733). London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Johnson, N. (2003). Working in Teams . Web.

Mayrowetz, D. (2008). Making sense of distributed leadership: Exploring the multiple usages of the concept in the field. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44 (3), 424-435.

National College of School Leadership. (2009). School leadership: Federations and distributed leadership . Web.

Sheard, G., & Kakabadse, A. (2004). A process perspective on leadership and team development. Journal of Management Development, 23 (1), 7-106.

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Reflections on school leadership

With the recent publication of the Developing your school with Cambridge guide, aimed at school leaders and teachers, it is a good time to reflect on what school leadership really means.

Everything about a school needs to focus on student learning with the dignity and development of each individual at its heart.

While schools have much in common, every school is a unique community and leadership needs to be situational and come from within. Outstanding school leaders strive to improve both the components and the dynamics of the system. This includes a concern for curriculum, assessment, the school’s culture and values, the role of parents and the community. Above all school leadership should be focused on improving learning through developing better teaching as teachers are the most powerful influence on student learning.

Good leadership is a necessary condition for educational excellence

The best schools understand the difference between leadership and management, viewing leadership as a process rather than a position of authority. Great leaders get the best out of the system by creating, implementing, monitoring, reviewing and refining goals practices and policies so that student learning outcomes are continuously improved. It also involves, in the words Geoff Southworth , the ‘liberation of talent.’ Teachers and students, fully supported, are leadership resources of enormous power and potential. For this reason leadership is best viewed as a collective responsibility and widely distributed.

Accountability and standards are critical

School evaluation practices, teacher appraisal and professional development systems need to reflect the complex nature of the educational process. They should involve teachers as reflective practitioners conscious that they have a role in improving both their own and institutional practice. Involvement breeds confidence, commitment, ownership and dignity.

It can result in raising a wide range of educational standards as well as creating a culture of excellence based on the needs of the school at that particular time. All leadership is situational; inexperienced teachers need more directed support from experienced colleagues and progress needs to be benchmarked to meaningful targets with individuals held to account.

While every school is unique and leadership should ideally come from within, there is particular value in sharing practice and experience with schools supporting each other as critical friends.  One example of an initiative that focuses on developing networks and the capacity for school leadership is Leadership for Learning [LfL] at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. This is a vibrant network concerned with learning and leadership, and the connection between the two.  LfL has developed a framework of ideas, principles and processes that have been successful in different contexts throughout the world and which are currently being practised by 16 Cambridge schools working with the Faculty of Education.

LfL practice is based on the following beliefs:

• Learning and leadership are a shared enterprise, as much as an individual one
• Leadership should be ‘distributed’ and exercised at every level
• Collaborative modes of working strengthen both teams and individuals
• An independent, critical perspective, informed by research is vital
• The status quo and received wisdom should be persistently questioned

Nurturing student leadership has never been more important in a world where education is even more about ‘’ providing young people with the competence and self-confidence to tackle uncertainty well.’’ Employers are desperate for students who are adaptable, able to be ‘intelligent in the face of change’ [Claxton, 1990], able to work together and lead teams effectively.

Leadership starts with ‘knowing yourself’ and developing self-confidence, empathy and resourcefulness. This cannot be taught but it can be nurtured and needs to be infused in every day school life and culture rather than become a mere marketing slogan. Schools are part of a community and must acknowledge their responsibility to contribute to and play a leadership role in community life. Learning and leadership do not begin or end at the school gate.

At Cambridge we will be working on improving the support and training we provide in the school leadership area. The potential for networking and sharing research-based international best practice is unique amongst our diverse range of schools. There is something very powerful about a community of schools and partners in so many different countries and contexts sharing practice and learning from each other.

Claxton, G [1990] Teaching to Learn: A Direction for Education. Cassell Education, London. UK.

MacBeath J. and Dempster, N. (Eds.) (2008) Connecting Leadership and Learning: Principles for practice. London: Routledge

Southworth, G. [2011] Speech given at the Cambridge Teachers Conference on School Leadesrhip

Related blogs

Reflections on this year’s Cambridge Schools Conferences: working together to help learners reach their potential

Using data for school improvement: What the Cambridge School Self Evaluation service tells us about reflective practice in education

Testing times – why test anxiety is an important issue for schools

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A vision for school leadership : a reflective essay

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Principal leadership: applying the new educational leadership constituent council (elcc) standards, reframing organizations: artistry, choice, and leadership. jossey-bass management series, social and behavioral science series, and higher and adult education series., becoming a reflective practitioner, both sides now: examining transformative learning and professional development of educators, learning by doing: a handbook for professional learning communities at work, good to great and the social sectors : why business thinking is not the answer : a monograph to accompany good to great : why some companies make the leap--and others don't.

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Reflecting on Yourself as a Leader

Schools need leaders who don’t yet think they are leaders and those of us teachers who are apprehensive about embracing the roles and responsibilities of leadership.

It took me a long, long time to accept the notion that as a teacher, I was also a leader; that as a department chair, I was also a leader; and that as a coach, I was also a leader. This was because I was operating within traditional definitions of leadership: I didn't have a formal leadership title -- like  principal -- nor did I have any kind of certificate or degree granting me the role and responsibilities.

But I was a leader -- for my students and for my colleagues -- because leadership has much more to do with how we think about what we do and why than it does about formal titles and degrees. And I imagine that many of you are also leaders whether you're aware of it or not.

Formal and Informal Leadership

Informal leadership is present and essential in all organizations, and informal leadership can be conducive to a school's health and effectiveness, or destructive. Think about your school: Whose thoughts and opinions are most respected and listened to amongst staff? In addition to those in positional leadership roles (the administrators), who else influences staff? Who has a loud voice? Who is respected? Who is feared?

Now think about yourself as a leader. Does the suggestion that you are a leader excite you or scare you? What does it mean to you to be a leader? What might be possible if you thought of yourself as a leader?

I'd like to suggest that in order to transform our schools, we'll need many, many more leaders. We'll need the leaders who don't yet think they are leaders and those of us who are apprehensive about embracing the roles and responsibilities of leadership, and we'll need to have reflected deeply on what we mean by leadership and on who we are as leaders. Towards that end, I'd like to offer you some prompts.

Transformation Starts with Self-Awareness

In my new book, The Art of Coaching Teams , I suggest that to develop healthy teams of educators who can do the hard work of transforming schools, we must start with ourselves as team leaders. We can't tackle unhealthy team dynamics or unfocused meetings until we know who we are as leaders and until we've explored our beliefs around power.

The first area for us to reflect on is around models of leadership in our society. Here are some questions from my book that can support this reflection:

• Who is a leader you admire?
• Who are the leaders in your community, city, and country?
• What kind of leadership do they demonstrate?
• How did they come to be leaders? Can you relate to them?
• What do you think makes a good leader?
• What kind of leader do you aspire to be?

Very few societies have shared agreements about what constitutes good leadership. Depending on your beliefs and values, a good leader might listen to all voices and take them into account when making a decision; or a good leader might consult with a few trusted advisors and then make a decision; or a good leader might make a decision alone based on his or her expert knowledge and experience.

Team leaders can benefit from exploring the big philosophical questions that surround the definition of good leadership. When we are aware of our core values, beliefs, dispositions, preferences, and histories, we can make conscious choices about our leadership stance.

What's Your Leadership Style?

Who you are as a leader is the next big area to explore. Here are some of the questions I offer to guide in this exploration:

• Who held power in your family when you were growing up? What kind of power was that? What was it based on?
• What were you taught about authority in your childhood home? What granted someone authority?
• Why do you lead in the way you do?
• What assumptions are you acting on as a leader about yourself, your team, and the work to be done?
• How does the system in which you are operating impact who you are as a leader?
• How do you negotiate power dynamics as a leader? Where do you notice power playing a role in your leadership?
• What kind of leader do you aspire to be? How do you want others to see you?
• What kind of leader does your team need you to be?
• What kind of leader does the community you serve need you to be?

Leadership is complex and contextual. Our circumstances heavily influence who we are and can be as leaders. In order to understand the complexity, we will all benefit from spending some reflective time considering our backgrounds, beliefs, and actions.

This reflection can help us embrace ourselves as leaders, refine our skill set, and create the change we hope to see in our schools.

Reflective Essay

Learning tips, tricks and hints

How to Write a Reflective Essay on Educational Leadership

Reflective essay on educational leadership is the most important thing that you should do if you want to enhance your own academic career. You need to make sure that your reflections are relevant, and they have an overall focus that will benefit the entire purpose of the essay itself.

In order to make the most out of your reflective essay on educational leadership, you need to think about how you are going to approach the topic in the first place. You have to be open to the whole idea of what a leader is all about. There are many different types of leaders that are out there – and you have to be able to apply them to your life, so that you can come up with the most positive things about leadership.

A reflective essay on educational leadership should also be very well researched. This means that you need to take some time to really analyze and look at everything that’s been said before you write anything. By having a lot of knowledge about something, you can make sure that you write a more coherent, compelling piece of work.

When it comes to writing a reflective essay on educational leadership, you have to remember that it’s an essay. Everything that you put in your essay needs to be researched, and you need to be willing to write about everything. If you do this, you can expect that it will be accepted by your professor or the committee that is going over the project.

Also, a reflective essay on educational leadership requires a lot of personal insight. You have to be able to reflect back to yourself in order to come up with good ideas for your writing. By doing this, you will be able to create a more well thought out article, and you will also gain a deeper appreciation for the whole concept of leadership.

Finally, a reflective essay on educational leadership is going to require that you have good communication skills. This means that you have to be able to communicate clearly and effectively with your reader. You have to make sure that the entire essay is clear and easy to understand, and that you are able to convey your message in a way that is easy to understand.

Writing a good reflective essay on educational leadership doesn’t have to be a difficult task at all. With the right tools, it can turn out to be an enjoyable and enlightening process.

Writing essays is something that everyone wants to do. However, it does take practice and patience to become good at this. When you take the time to practice, you’ll find that the time that you put into writing essays will be much more effective in the long run.

Another thing to keep in mind when writing a reflective essay is to use a lot of metaphors. If you can use metaphors to explain how things are, then you will be able to convey the right message. By using metaphors, you’ll be able to help to make your article as clear and concise as possible, which will allow your reader to understand your idea more easily.

Finally, when it comes to writing essays, don’t make it too formal. Just like everything else, you need to use proper grammar and proper spelling, but don’t make it so dry and boring that it doesn’t hold your audience’s attention.

A reflective essay on educational leadership is something that people can really relate to. For this reason, you should make sure that your topic is something that is very appealing. Something that you can relate to and something that is going to give people something new to learn about.

When you have completed your reflective essay, it will be very easy for you to communicate your ideas to your audience. By being able to make these points clear, you’ll gain respect and recognition as an author, and you’ll also make sure that your essay gets accepted. You’ll be able to create a lasting impression on your professor or committee, and you’ll be able to show your ability to communicate effectively.

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A Reflection on Leadership based on my experience with the LEADER Project

Nov 2, 2012

Leadership is a quality that's innate in me. Whether it was in the playground at pre-school, the soccer-field growing up, student council in high school or various teams I am involved in at Ivey, a common theme has been my desire and willingness to lead. For a long time I thought this was because I enjoyed being in a position of control, a position of influence where I could shape the direction of a particular project or initiative. To some extent, this was the case; but I only recently realized that it was the desire to have an impact that I love most about being a leader. In fact, the ability to make an impact is how I would define leadership. Often times, leadership is seen as a title, a position that one is chosen for or given to make decisions and lead a group of people. These individuals are leaders, of course, as they're able to make significant impact on a large group of people; but we forget that leaders are everywhere in our society and more often than not they are leaders in an unorthodox sense. Whether they are artists, teachers, or musicians, many of them make an impact on their communities and those who choose to do so intentionally are leaders in their own right.

This is not to say that everyone can be a leader. I believe there are certain personality traits, skillsets and motivations that need to be present for effective leadership to take place. However, I believe leadership is a means to generating impact and I believe there are numerous individuals out there who do this on a daily basis who we would never consider as being leaders in the traditional sense of the word.

My LEADER experience has been paramount to me redefining my definition of leadership. I have personally been very fortunate to have had formal opportunities to develop my leadership skills and be provided with opportunities to exhibit it as well. This has given me tremendous exposure to new opportunities and only accelerated my growth as a leader. However, after visiting Russia I realized that such opportunities are unheard of in their communities. They don't have student councils, leadership institutes, summer enrichment programs or entrepreneurship incubators. These were all formal institutions that allowed me to practice and develop my leadership skills. This begged the question: is there a lack of leaders in Russia? Absolutely not. Many of the students I had a chance to work with were budding entrepreneurs with ambitious goals for solving critical problems in their communities. Several of them had already pursued various community service projects and some even had international experiences which they sought out on their own.

One student in our class, Julia, was particularly inspirational. She came from a very low-income family and was financing her tuition by founding an adventure sports startup. Specifically, she had partnered with a hot-air balloon pilot and began offering excursions to individuals in the nearby city of Samara. This was a brand new offering unbeknownst to a region that attracted little to no tourists. Despite this seemingly massive hurdle, Julia persevered with her vision and successfully ran this business over the course of the last two years. Since then, she has expanded their offerings to include mountain biking and hiking tours as well. This just goes to show the determination and commitment she made to her education and creating a service that genuinely added value in a unique way for her community. Julia didn't have mentors, venture capitalists or incubators to help guide her through this process. She did her own research, invested the little capital that she could afford and courage to take on this enormous challenge. Julia is a true leader.

Despite a lack of formal infrastructure in place to foster leaders in the traditional sense, many students were still forging their own ways of making an impact. This is what leadership is all about. I'm extremely fortunate and grateful for having the opportunity to experience this first hand. It inspires me to know that youth all around the world embody a passion for change, a desire to lead and a commitment to making an impact. LEADER is a phenomenal initiative that is supporting this dream and opening doors that otherwise may never have opened - for our students, the entrepreneurs, and for us, the LEADERites.

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My Top Tips for Applying to Michigan Ross

As we kick-off the 2024-25 application cycle, I am sharing a handful of my top tips to keep in mind when you are applying. 

Tip 1: Read the instructions

Every year when I write a blog about my top tips for the application cycle, I start with this tip: Slow down and read ALL of the instructions. Seems simple, right? But with all that you need to keep track of with applications and school-related responsibilities, it is easy to miss something important. This is especially true this year because for the first time, Michigan Ross is a First-Year Admitting Unit at the University of Michigan. Read the blog I published in June to learn more about this change. 

We have a variety of resources on our How to Apply: First Year Applicants page Also, if you happen to forget where to submit your portfolio, we have a Ross Admissions Portfolio website with the SlideRoom link available. 

Tip 2: Take ownership of your application process 

The more organized and in control of your college application process, the less stress you may feel. Taking ownership means understanding and tracking all deadlines you need to meet for the colleges you are applying to (including financial aid). This also means organizing what materials you need to submit in addition to what is requested within the actual application. You will need to submit transcripts, and letters of recommendation, among other items, and it is your responsibility  to ensure that these materials are delivered on time.

Another tip I often give to students is to write a thank you note to your recommenders about a month before each application deadline (which also means you gave them more than a month to write your letter). This is both a form of gratitude, and a good way to politely remind your teachers and counselors if they have not already submitted your letters. 

Tip 3: Make the call, not your parents 

Speaking of ownership, it is important that you make the call or initiate the email when you have a question related to your application. It can be brave to navigate a complex application or university system, but it is also a very important experience for you to gain before you arrive on a college campus. Building that independence begins now. The more confident you are now in talking with the staff and faculty at colleges and universities, the more successful you will be later. Remember the common phrase, “no such thing as a stupid question”. That is entirely true! We are here to answer every question you may have and it excites us even more when we talk to a student who is considering our program. 

Tip 4: Show an authentic voice through reflective writing

Your voice is the most important part of the application process. College essay writing is reflective writing - not academic writing, and usually not creative writing. What do I mean by reflective? We want students to reflect on their interests, goals, what they will contribute to this new academic community, and what they want to gain from it.

Let’s take that typical “why [this college] essay.” When you answer that question, it is not about what the school will give you in terms of job placement rates or fancy facilities. It is about what you want to get out of your college experience. Reflect on the moment you knew you wanted to study business and tell us why. Was it a class within your high school? An extracurricular activity that exposed you to a new concept or idea? Try to be present with your thinking and stay away from essays that center others as your reason, such as the “dinner time conversations with my parents on their business/job” or “my cousin who attended business school.” Remember, you are the one completing this degree, not anyone else, so you need to show that you have thought through your why.

And, write all of this without platitudes on how great Michigan or Ross is. We certainly love Michigan and Ross, too! But the essay is about you, your goals, and a reflection of what you want to study and why.

Tip 5: The Business Case Discussion is not a research-based prompt

In the BBA program, we solve a lot of problems and case study analysis is at the core of our broad-based management degree. Therefore, the portfolio has a performance assessment known as the Business Case Discussion that allows us to view and analyze your problem-solving ability. I recently wrote a blog post on it and recommend that you check it out. But to quickly summarize a few things here, the Business Case Discussion is not a research-based prompt. You will give no citations or reference works of others. That is because the topic you will choose is local and not global. We are instead looking to see how you identify the business implications and what steps you take to think through or get to a solution. It should all be original thinking on your part. 

Tip 6: Submit by the Early Action deadline

I will end with the last tip I always give: Please apply by the Nov. 1 Early Action deadline. We build the majority of our class with Early Action applicants. Also, applying Early Action means you get your admission decision by late January and financial aid and scholarship processes can commence sooner. Early Action is non-binding (we do not have any application deadline restrictions or Early Decision deadlines. We receive, review, and make decisions periodically for the BBA program, and the later you apply, the higher likelihood that we are filling up and will have less space for admission offers later in the process. 

I hope these application tips were helpful. Remember that our website is a wonderful resource for more information on applying, and we have many ways to connect with us . I look forward to reading your applications this winter.   

"Be unique. Be yourself."

How To Craft An Ivy League Worthy Activities List

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Brown University

Do Ivy League schools really care about your extracurricular activities? The answer is emphatically yes .

Ivy League colleges seek to admit students who are specialists in their fields of interest and will put their passions to positive use in their future communities. While grades, test scores, and a rigorous course load convey your academic interests and skill set to top colleges, your activities list goes a long way in communicating what you truly value and what kind of community member you will be on your future college campus. For this reason, the Common App activities list is one of the most critical components of your college application—a thoughtfully crafted activities list paints a picture of your commitment to your passions, your leadership abilities, and your history of enacting positive change in your environment.

With the school year quickly approaching, students should use the remaining weeks of summer to start crafting their activities lists , taking advantage of their free time before the demands of the school year ramp up. By using this time to strategize and thoughtfully map out your activities list, you can put your best foot forward to Ivy League admissions officers and distinguish yourself in a sea of talented applicants. Here are three key strategies to ensure that your activities list showcases your talents and stands out to top schools:

1. Use your Activities List to Demonstrate Your Hook

Every element of a student’s application, from their essays to their transcript and letters of recommendation, should coalesce around their “hook”—and the activities list is no different. A hook is a unique passion, skill, or area of interest that a student hones over the course of their high school career; it is the special X factor that sets them apart from the pack. While your essays tell admissions officers about your passions in your unique voice, your activities list provides an overview of how you have spent your time over the past four years, each activity acting as a piece of a puzzle that tells your broader story. As such, it is critical that students use their activities list to clearly convey their core passion and show how they have engaged with it in tangible ways.

For example, if your hook is in biomolecular sciences and cancer research, you should be able to demonstrate that interest through activities like working as a professor’s research assistant at a medical school or research institute, taking related classes at a college or university, or writing about cancer research-related topics in your school newspaper. Alternatively, if your hook is in environmental advocacy, your list should include activities such as leading a local environmental club, organizing community clean-up events, or conducting research on sustainable practices. This coherence not only makes your application more compelling, but also works in support of your long-term goals and informs the unique perspective you bring as a candidate.

2. Be Specific About Your Contributions

Admissions officers not only want to see what activities students have been involved in, but also how they actively contributed as group members and leaders. The language you use in your activities list can significantly influence how your involvement is understood. Therefore, when describing each activity, be specific about your role and the impact you made. Instead of simply stating that you were a member of the debate team, highlight your achievements, such as winning regional championships or mentoring five junior members. Use quantifiable data to underscore your impact wherever possible. For instance, “Organized a charity run that raised $5,000 for local shelters" is more impressive and informative than “Organized a charity run.” This level of detail will allow the admissions committee to understand the breadth and depth of your involvement, which can go a long way in distinguishing you from other applicants who participated in similar activities.

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Additionally, active language conveys enthusiasm, initiative, and leadership. Verbs such as “spearheaded,” “executed,” “developed,” “launched,” “advocated,” and “strategized” paint a vivid picture of your initiative and drive. Likewise, avoid passive phrases like “was responsible for” or “helped with,” as they can minimize the significance of your contributions. Using dynamic and active verbs also enhances the readability of your activities list, making it more engaging and memorable for admissions officers.

3. List Your Activities in a Strategic Order

Many students assume that they should list their activities in order of the amount of time they have devoted to each activity, from most to least. However, students should note that the Common App indicates: “Please list your activities in the order of their importance to you.” This means that even if you are a varsity athlete who trains 20+ hours a week, if you plan to apply as a STEM major, you might prioritize listing your research endeavors and internships higher up on your list than your athletic achievements. For instance, you could list your groundbreaking summer research project first, followed by an internship at a tech company, placing your training sessions further down the list. This strategy ensures that your activities list reflects your personal priorities and aligns with your intended major and career goals.

Approaching the activities list with strategy, thoughtful reflection, and a clear sense of one’s central passion will allow students to put their best foot forward to admissions officers at Ivy League and other top schools. Using the remainder of the summer to get ahead on the activities list will give students the time they need to ensure that this component of their application is polished and catches admissions officers’ eyes.

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Staff essay contest winners celebrated.

Four Princeton staff members have been honored for their writing in the 10th annual Princeton Writes essay contest.

By Adrianne Da Ponte, Advancement   The 2023-2024 contest invited participants to describe a space they would like to create “within our University community or elsewhere.” Thirty-one staff members representing 27 academic and administrative units took up the challenge. An essay by Alison Cummins, office and events coordinator at the Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies, won the Princeton Writes prize. Essays by Joseph Gessner, Julie Meyers, and Alice Señeres received honorable mentions.

Chancellor Green’s rotunda served as the setting for a celebration of honorees and their fellow contest participants on June 6. Princeton Writes  Program Director John Weeren thanked all entrants for constructing spaces “designed to nourish ourselves and engage with others,” whether “magical” or “grounded in the here and now.”

Cummins’ prizewinning essay is less about creating a space from scratch than coming to terms with a space that once existed and is now both a source of longing and a catalyst for re-imagination. In passages of vivid color and intimate detail,  The Blue Room(Link is external) (Link opens in new window) evokes a beloved childhood bedroom and draws readers into a reflection on growing up and the ways in which the past shapes the present.

As a writer with primary interests in plays and fiction, Cummins enjoyed the chance to explore non-fiction writing through her essay. Her educational background includes a master’s degree in writing for the stage and screen from University College Dublin, along with a BA in sociology and minors in English and creative writing from Muhlenberg College. She has had several plays produced and is currently working on a novel.

Throughout her life, Cummins has enjoyed opportunities to travel and to live and study abroad, including a brief stint in Nepal cut short by the pandemic. She brings this international perspective to her work at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center, where frequent event-planning responsibilities enable her to engage with scholars and artists from around the world. 

For Gessner, a mail carrier with Print and Mail Services who also happens to be a playwright, this year’s contest provided a welcome opportunity to connect his writing to his lifelong interest in the natural environment. In his essay,  A Thousand Trees from Now(Link is external) (Link opens in new window) , he proposes the creation of a “mini-forest” on Princeton’s campus. Modeled on a method developed by botanist Akira Miyawaki, this concept relies on native plants and intensive cultivation to rapidly replicate mature forest communities on small plots in locations around the world.

As Gessner envisions it, this Princeton forest would build community—not only among plants but also among the generations of people involved in its cultivation and stewardship. The theme of community, of finding and building “the connections between things,” is a through-line in Gessner’s life and work. His undergraduate studies in sociology shaped an abiding interest in cultural encounters, both between and within communities. A move to Princeton some 25 years ago from rural south Jersey represented a personal cultural shift, one that he relishes on daily rounds and in conversations within what he calls the University “ecosystem.” His latest project is a play about a billionaire trying to sell her plan to revive a struggling mining town.

Meyers’ essay,  Hidden Daggers(Link is external) (Link opens in new window) , envisions the creation of a “Well, Come!” center on campus that offers warmth, comfort, and solace to all who enter. She recounts her own experience as a college student facing the death of her mother while her roommates eagerly discussed plans for winter break, a reminder that even seemingly innocuous conversations can unwittingly inflame hidden suffering. Meyers’ center is meant to be a place of sanctuary where this pain need not remain concealed.

In the loss of her mother, Meyers found inspiration for her life’s work—fundraising for causes that matter. “Although I chose not to go into medicine, I knew I could make a difference speaking about health and other vital issues,” says Meyers, whose first job involved fundraising for breast cancer. Through subsequent fundraising and communications teaching roles, she has continued to work for causes she believes in, and sees her life as an experience of gratitude. Now an associate director for donor relations in University Advancement, Meyers relishes the opportunity to express gratitude to those whose generosity helps sustain Princeton’s mission.

Señeres, an associate dean for academic affairs in the Graduate School, never thought of herself as a writer until she started taking classes through Princeton Writes . The easy camaraderie of these sessions gave her the confidence to enter this year’s contest. Her essay, Tell Me About It(Link is external) , which imagines a campus coffee shop built around “deep but brief interactions,” was inspired by a transformative encounter in her own life.

In her role at the Graduate School, Señeres works with students in the sciences and engineering, guiding them through every touchpoint of their careers at Princeton, from admissions to program completion. Formerly a professor of mathematics and director of the Learning Centers at Rutgers University, she brings to her work at Princeton a deep understanding of the challenges and rewards of graduate education.

The central theme of her essay—finding opportunities to listen to others and to trust in even fleeting connections—has also informed many of her life decisions, whether choosing to embark on a new doctoral program, pulling up stakes and spending a year in Germany on a Fulbright, or taking up horseback riding as an adult.

Princeton Writes , established in 2013, provides a welcoming space for employees and students to strengthen their practical communication skills through workshops, tutorials, practice-based learning groups, and other forms of support. 

Among these offerings is Writing Space, a congenial and creative community of writers and would-be writers who meet monthly between September and June in the classroom in B03 New South. Writing Space gives participants the opportunity, inspiration, and motivation they need to set aside time to write and is sometimes the starting point for winning essays. 

To join the Writing Space mailing list, email [email protected] .